Audiobook Review for Falling for Mr. October by Angela Casella, Heather Firth (Narrator), Sean Masters (Narrator)

 

Apple Ridge #1

Falling for Mr. October by Angela Casella, Heather Firth (Narrator), Sean Masters (Narrator)

Published:   October 15, 2026 by Angela Casella

Genre:  Romance, Autumn, Faked Dating

Taken from Goodreads: 

**Spicy version**
The whole town’s falling for the famous Shirtless Chef. Even his fake girlfriend.

Bianca
Call me suspicious, but I know something’s up when my nonna’s former best friend shows up at our house for an extended stay with her adult grandson Giovanni. Nonna says we’re lucky they’re going to “help out” with our failing family farm for the fall. I don’t buy it. No man would abandon his life to play his grandmother’s vacation companion.

Is Giovanni gorgeous?
Yes.

Charming?
Yes, and he’s always cooking for us.

But he’s definitely hiding something, and one day at our pumpkin patch, I discover his
Giovanni was recently unmasked as the anonymous YouTube sensation known as The Shirtless Chef.

Everyone back home knows, so he left to escape the chaos.

Too bad the chaos follows him, and now I’m part of it.

Giovanni

I didn’t mean to kiss Bianca.

I definitely didn’t mean to kiss her in front of a photographer, but one stolen snap later, everyone’s insisting that I came to Apple Ridge for her.

I'm about to clear it up when she begs me not to—
The farm is failing, and a fake relationship with an accidental celebrity could solve her problems.

So I agree.

The next thing I know, I’m crowned the town’s Mr. October, Bianca and I are drowning in fall festivals, and I’m falling for a woman I know I’ll have to leave.


There are TWO different versions of this
1) A spicy open door version with some strong language and sex scenes
2) A closed door version with mild language and only kissing.
Please choose the version that's best for you!

 

My Thoughts:  Listening to the spicy version of Falling for Mr. October had me blushing and wanting more.   I enjoy spice and I enjoy closed door romance so I believe that I would have enjoyed either version. The spicy version was full of ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥. 

Falling for Mr. October is a great cozy fall romance.  The characters are fun with interesting lives.  Giovanni is protective and possessive enough to make my toes curl in anticipation of his next move while Bianca shows where she belongs from page one.   They are the perfect couple.  I love how much they care about the town and how they work together to set things in the right direction for the small town. 

Thank you Hambright PR for an audio copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

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Audiobook Review for Unbound by Janice Whiteaker

 

The Bradshaw Brothers #5

Unbound by Janice Whiteaker

Published:  October 30, 2026

Genre:  Romance, Audiobooks

Taken from Goodreads:  Losing my dad was the hardest thing I’ve ever gone through.

He was patient and kind. Loving and smart. The funniest person in every room and the last person on every dance floor. The most amazing man I’d ever known.

Except it turns out, I didn’t really know him at all.

My father had secrets, and their trail leads me straight to McKinley Security Systems.

Straight to Walker McKinley.

Walker is so different from the man who brought us together. He’s stoic and serious. Quiet and calm. Has an intensity and focus that pulls me in.

He makes me feel seen. Understood. Safe.

But I’m not safe, and neither is Walker. Unlocking the truth of our shared past carries a danger neither of us expects.

And one of us might not survive.

My Thoughts:  I listened to this book.   The narrators are perfect!   I loved hearing the all the  emotions as the narrators read the book to me.   The story is full of emotion, and it all came to life as I listened.  I could feel every word and found myself many times stopping what I was doing and just listening so that I would not miss a word.

Sybil is the perfect match for Walker.   She takes risks, pushes borders, and is willing to do anything to get the answers she is looking for.    In short, she keeps Walker on his toes.  Walker is all hard and alpha.  He lets no one get close to him, until Sybil.  I liked watching his walls come down.  These two belong together, they had me laughing, smiling, and cringing at some of their antics.

Thank you Hambright PR for an audio copy of the book via Bookfunnel in exchange for my honest review.

Add to your MUST-READ list on Goodreads

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Release Blitz for CLAIM by Tia Louise

 CLAIM by Tia Louise is now live!

Austin Sinclair was always my forever. Even before our parents got married.

He was my handsome prince, my future husband, and my happily ever after from the day he arrived in our hometown with his mom, a scared preteen boy running from a bad dad. Those are the facts, and they don’t change just because our parents got married the year he left for college… 

From the time I was a kid, football was my escape, my chance to be something better. 

Coach Jack Bradford was my idol, the man who could open doors for me. 

I never thought seriously about his daughter. 

She was the little girl who rode me piggyback and told everyone I was her handsome prince, and we were going to live happily ever after. Every. Single. Day. 

It was little-girl make-believe.

Now I’m back home, a football star, a single dad, and a widower. 

I’ve achieved everything I set out to accomplish. Being the new head coach at my old high school is icing on the cake. I wanted to be Coach Jack, and on paper, I am.

The only thing missing is love. 

But I find something more at home—a girl I can talk to, who knows me better than anyone.

She takes care of my daughter, who loves her instantly. She never stops telling me I’m worthy, I’m good. Then when I see her in that white bikini, I realize she’s right… 

She’s not a little girl anymore. 

But I’m eight years older than she is. I’m her stepbrother.

I have no right to want her this way. 

Until another man tries to take her, and I realize it’s too late.

Kim Bradford is my queen. I claim her, and nothing is going to steal our happily ever after.

(CLAIM is a small-town, single-dad, age-gap, “will they or won’t they” football romance. It’s packed with yearning, angst, found-family, spice, and so much love. No cheating, no cliffhanger, no third act breakup, and a guaranteed HEA.)

 Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited!

Amazon US: https://bit.ly/3TJ2gjT  

Amazon Worldwide: https://bit.ly/3TJ2gjT  

Audio: Coming Nov. 13th    

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/4q7H5nD 

 

Book Blitz for Safe in Sound by Ania Ray with a GIVEAWAY

 

Safe in Sound
Ania Ray
(A Blue Spruce Hills Novella)
Publication date: October 29th 2026
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Holiday, Romance

She’s “happy,” but someone might say she’s “settled.” What happens when the life that makes you feel safe is also the one keeping you small?

Thirty-four-year-old piano teacher Riley O’Connor believes her chance to become a world-class musician has sailed. She’s content-ish with her life in Blue Spruce Hills, a quaint mountain town that is safe, quiet, and predictable. Instead of performing on stages, she teaches the neighborhood kids, hangs out with her best friend Clara, reads books surrounded by her houseplants, and rehearses like she’s about to be called to join the London Philharmonic.

Though she’d be too scared to go. Grammy called her ’Fraidy Cat, after all.

When what Riley thinks is a break-in turns out to be a dog who won’t leave, she’s thrust into a series of events that challenge her to confront her anxiety. First, the social kind: the veterinarian is incredibly handsome. And kind. And grieving his wife. And looking for someone to give his son piano lessons.

She agrees.

Suddenly, Riley is on a winter hike with a man where bears, snakes, and fatal injury are possibilities. And when an opportunity arises to accompany renowned violist Albi Drechsler, the dream she’d long ago decided was out of reach is suddenly within it. To get what she wants, she must prove that fear doesn’t have the final word. But could she actually leave the safety of Blue Spruce Hills?

Safe in Sound is a story about overcoming fears, leaning into friendship, and trusting that even when the night feels darkest, love can hold you through. If you miss your loved ones a little extra during the holidays, you’ll love this redemptive story that proves those we miss most can still find a way to make us courageous.

Goodreads / Amazon

—

EXCERPT:

I exhale, the breath in front of me a wisp reminiscent of the steamed milk Clara’s grandmother would mix into the hot chocolate we’d share after school. While I waited for Grammy and Pappy to come home from the Mom and Pop store they owned and ran together, Clara was my safe place.

I stuff my gloved hands in my pockets. This morning I am hanging an angel on a doorknob with someone who risked social status by befriending me. The school playground was too giant a target for a skinny eight-year-old with fiery hair. Grammy always said I’d grow into my hair one day, but I’m pretty sure the “big-tempered redhead” myth fell apart with me. Maybe because Clara has always been my fire. I’m more like old embers buried under kindling.

So way back when… gosh, has it really already been over two decades? Way back when Clara asked if I wanted to skip on the sidewalk with her—and my answer was a genuine yes—we began our friendship.

Basically, I’ll do whatever Clara asks. She knew I was the new kid and approached me anyway. Anyone who does that—when kids seem to feel most powerful when they’re being mean and exclusive—deserves to have their best friend wake up early.

And even though I’d love to still be sleeping right now, three blissful hours remaining in my regular schedule, I feel a thrilling anticipation at seeing my best friend. Sure, I see her in passing every weekday, and we catch each other up in text messages all the time, but to sit down and really connect usually only happens when she comes over once a month. And we’ve missed a lot of those lately because she’s doing big baker things.

And I do little piano teacher things.

It’s fine. I’m happy.

Author Bio:

Hi, I’m Ania Ray, an author of women’s fiction that dives into the raw, transformative journeys of complex female characters. My books force each protagonist to confront the worst of herself before she evolves into the hero of her own story.

The Cromwell Rules trilogy features interconnected standalones, so you can enjoy each book individually or follow Lily Cromwell's entire arc from start to finish. In The Cromwell Rules and Breaking the Rules, I explore how boundaries can feel stifling or nonexistent, and how we each must find our sweet spot of self-respect.

When I’m not writing, I lead Quill & Cup, a writing community that helps authors finish the stories that matter to them. Outside of writing, I’m a wife, a mom to a toddler who’d live outdoors if she could, and a tea lover (Cinnamon Apple Spice is my favorite).

If you love reading novels with relatable, complex characters and emotionally gripping stories, you’re in the right place.

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GIVEAWAY!
Safe in Sound Blitz

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Audiobook Review for Behaving Badly in Vegas by Sabrina Wagner, Aaron Shedlock (Narrator), Savannah Thomas (Narrator)

 Vegas Love #3

Behaving Badly in Vegas by Sabrina Wagner, Aaron Shedlock (Narrator), Savannah Thomas (Narrator)

Published:  August 19, 2026 by Sassy Sirens Press

Genre:  Romance, Audiobook

Taken from Goodreads:  Being bad never felt so good…

Hunter
I was born irredeemably bad. Being disowned and fired from the family business proved it. Then a pink bundle showed up on my doorstep and I was begging for my job back. I’d do anything for my daughter, but didn’t know jack about being a single dad, so I did the only sensible thing—hired a drop-dead gorgeous nanny.

Charli Bently was too pretty, too young, too good for a man like me. I should have kept my hands to myself, but wanting too much had always been my downfall. One kiss led to another, then we burned up the sheets. She deserved better than a bastard like me and I refused to be the reason she didn’t chase her dreams. For the first time in my life, I was going to do the right thing…let her go.

♥♠♦♣

Charli
Everyone warned me not to take a job from Hunter Dorsey. They said he was cruel, ruthless, and untrustworthy, but with no job and an abysmal bank account, I needed the money. The live-in nanny position seemed like the perfect fix to solve my financial woes. It was only temporary. How bad could he be?

His daughter was cute as a button, but her dad was a grumpy bosshole. His tyrannical behavior and mood swings gave me whiplash. Hunter was the last man I should have wanted, yet the moment our lips touched he set me on fire. Steamy nights and toe-curling kisses were an amazing benefits package, but hoping he’d see me as more than the hired help was foolish.
Love wasn’t part of our deal.

What to expect:

*Grumpy Millionaire
*Baby on the Doorstep
*Single Dad
*Falling for the Nanny
*Bosshole
*Forced Proximity
*Sassy Aerial Performer

My Thoughts: Hunter is a pompous jerk.  Since he has money, he thinks he is entitled.  Then his life is turned upside down.  He is disowned, has a baby show up on his doorstep, and falls for the nanny.    Life changes, his attitude slowly adjusts, and he realizes there is more to life than how he was living. 

I love Charli.  Charli takes no crap from anyone, speaks her mind, and loves Hunter’s daughter.  She holds Hunter responsible for his actions and words while also showing him that he is lovable and worthy of a family. 

Behaving Badley in Vegas can be read or listened to without the being familiar with the rest of the series.  This is Hunter’s book, his story, and it is told with a beginning and an end.  The other books in this series will just share more of the history of the Dorsey family and how their dynamic got to where it is.

Thank you Hambright PR for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review. 

Add to your MUST-READ list on Goodreads

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Audiobook Review for Beautiful Monster: a Steamy Age Gap Romance by Sara Cate, Harley Quinn Smith (Narrator), Aaron Shedlock (Narrator)

 

Beautiful Monster: a Steamy Age Gap Romance by Sara Cate, Harley Quinn Smith (Narrator), Aaron Shedlock (Narrator)

Published:  October 27, 2026 by Sara Cate

Genre:  Romance, Age Gap, Audiobook

Taken from Goodreads:  Love is a monster. Alexander Caldwell has spent his life avoiding anything that resembles permanence.Until he buys a house in the suburbs and decides, at last, that it might be time to grow up.Then Sunny Thorn walks into his backyard.Shes too young. Too restless. Too determined to escape the small life waiting for her in Pineridge. And she has no business occupying his thoughts the way she does.Sunny only took the job painting Alexanders pool house because she needs the money. Money means freedom. A future. A way out.Falling for the older man watching her from across the pool was never part of the plan.Neither was discovering that beneath Alexanders polished arrogance is a loneliness she understands far too well.He knows wanting her is wrong.She knows staying could cost her the future shes been fighting for.Falling in love ruins both of their plans.But if they've learned anything this summer, it's that love is a monstera beautiful one.This newly revised edition features updated content and refreshed text. For readers who love forbidden romance, age gaps, complicated desire, and emotionally messy love stories.

My Thoughts: Age Gape is a hit or miss genre for me.   This one is a hit.  I enjoyed that it was not only a daddy issue that makes Sunny run to Alexander.  There is a need for safety, for respect, for family that pushes her to find solace in Alexander’s house.

Sunny is a woman who wants to be strong, self-sufficient, and loved.   She finds all of that with Alexander.  I like how careful they are with each other.   They know that their feelings are legal but will be seen as taboo by many people.  The feelings between them are real, strong, and steamy. 

This book is wonderful.  I listened to it and the narrators are perfect.  I love the dual narrators.   The characters were brought to life with the narrators voices and tones.  I could feel all the emotions, heat, and frustrations.

Thank you Hambright PR for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

Add to your MUST-READ list on Goodreads

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Release Blitz for Beneath the Quiet Sky by L.H. Cosway

 Beneath the Quiet Sky by L.H. Cosway is now live!

Erin never thought she’d see Tristan Balfe again, so it’s no surprise that he doesn’t remember her. After their brief friendship when she was a struggling, homeless teenager, she left town with no plans to return.

Fast forward nineteen years and she’s the manager of her uncle’s hotel, the Astor Cove. It’s an old but much beloved establishment in dire need of some TLC. Tristan, now one of the most successful hoteliers in the country, has set his sights on the historic building and is keen to turn it into an exclusive location for his wealthy clientele.

Erin doesn’t want things at the Astor Cove to change and she tries to convince her uncle not to sell, but he’s seduced by the idea of a luxury retirement and Tristan’s persistence wins out. The only silver lining? Erin and some of the other legacy staff will get to keep their jobs under the new ownership.

So now she must work alongside Tristan while they transform her beloved place of work into something shiny and new, and Erin learns that Tristan can be just as persistent a flirt as he is a businessman. He’s determined that they’ve met before even though he can’t remember when or how, but Erin has no interest in revisiting her painful past and insists they’re strangers. The problem? Tristan’s irresistible charm and playful personality awakens something in Erin, something she’d promised herself long ago was dead.

Erin is powerless to prevent being swept into Tristan’s orbit, but she fears that when he finally remembers who she is—and how she heartlessly abandoned him all those years ago—he’ll no longer want her at all.

Beneath the Quiet Sky is book #5 in The Quiet Love Series and can be read as a standalone.

Includes prequel novella, A Quiet Promise.

 Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited!

Amazon: https://bit.ly/4iLV4h4  

Amazon Worldwide: https://geni.us/3izABK     

Goodreads: https://geni.us/AY8kHwv 

 

Book Blitz for The Shadowless by R.J. Garcia with a GIVEAWAY

 

The Shadowless
R.J. Garcia
(At the Corner of Eden and Darkness, #1)
Publication date: November 26th 2025
Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult

Modern Faerie Tale Meets Murder

Mae Dawson returns to her family’s cabin in a mysterious forest to search for her missing sister. One night, she goes to sleep in her bed only to awaken in the depths of the woods surrounded by eerie and indiscernible voices that lead her to her sister’s grave.

A year has passed. Mae has pieced her life back together. She has a supportive boyfriend and is completing her first semester in college. However, everything begins to unravel when strange late-night calls come from the beyond, and a malevolent force begins to invade her friends.

Adding to her unease is the presence of a mysterious stranger, Brandon Sills, who seems to lurk in the shadows, watching her every move. Despite the warning bells ringing in her mind, Mae feels an inexplicable attraction to him.

As mortal and magical forces conspire against them, Mae must trust Brandon to uncover the secrets of the fae. Secrets that will change her life forever, if she even survives.

The Spellbound
R.J. Garcia
(At the Corner of Eden and Darkness, #2)
Publication date: December 2nd 2026
Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult

Magic Meets Mayhem

Back in Willows End, Mae and Brandon find themselves in the thick of things after kidnapping her ex. As they attempt to banish a changeling, Mae begins to question her sanity, and the threat of a serial killer draws ever closer.

Even sleep offers no reprieve. Mae can no longer find Emmie in the Garden—her dreams of wonder have become nightmares. Before long, she discovers her sister is lost in Limbo.

One night, Mae is alone in the cabin when she hears someone breaking in. Her only hope is her possessed ex—chained in the spare room. Mae is forced to choose the lesser of two evils. Once Mae makes her choice, the changeling assumes human form, an ancient prophecy stirs, and nothing is as it seems.

Haunted by fear and doubt, Mae clings to her love for Brandon, the last sure thing in her life, and her greatest hope of saving her sister. But are things really as certain as they seem?

Goodreads / Amazon

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SNEAK PEEK QUOTES:

The Shadowless:

“I pulled myself out of a dream and glared with a pirate eye at my buzzing phone. Then I caught sight of Emmie’s name flashing on the screen. There would be nothing unusual about it except, of course, it’s the middle of the night and my sister’s dead.”

The Spellbound:

“It was more than the way his blue eyes twinkled, and how his mouth moved like honey. It was more than him being handsome, kind, and magical. It was the feeling I had, a connection I can’t quite explain.”

—

Author Bio:

R.J. Garcia is a wife, and proud mom of two smart kids. She earned her MSW and worked with foster children and as a school social worker. Writing has been her other great love. She has been writing short stories for as long as she can remember. To her amazement, those short stories became novels!

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GIVEAWAY!

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Spotlight for EIGHT WAYS TO SAY I LOVE YOU by Amanda Elliot

 

EIGHT WAYS TO SAY I LOVE YOU by Amanda Elliot

Published:  October 27, 2026 by Berkley Trade Paperback Original

Genre:  Holiday; Friends to Lovers; Contemporary Romance

The story: This Hanukkah, Shira Levinson is returning home to New Jersey riding the high of achieving major milestones. Though she only just graduated from college, she's got her dream job and a perfect Los Angeles apartment—an actual miracle in the city of dreams.

Life has not been quite as kind to Leo David. Not only did he fail out of college, he was forced to move in with his estranged dad, who he still hates for cheating on his mom years ago. The only silver lining? Getting to see Shira, his childhood friend (and crush, though he’ll never tell her that) while she’s home for her family's holiday party.

But that's just the beginning. Over the next eight years, Shira's and Leo's lives spin them in all sorts of directions as they grow and change, taking them places they never imagined going. Sometimes those paths take them farther away from each other, and other times closer together. If they can only time it right, they might uncover a love that burns forever.

Add to your MUST-READ list on Goodreads

Purchase your own copy on Amazon

 

 

Author Bio: USA Today bestselling author Amanda Elliot lives with her family in New Jersey, where she experiments with homemade ice cream flavors, tries her best to grow vegetables in her tiny garden, and writes mysteries under the name Bellamy Rose.

Audiobook Review for Reaper's Wrath: A Mafia Captive Romance Tribute to The Princess Bride by Jill Ramsower, Melissa Barr (Narrator), James Cassidy (Narrator)

 

Reaper's Wrath: A Mafia Captive Romance Tribute to The Princess Bride by Jill Ramsower, Melissa Barr (Narrator), James Cassidy (Narrator)

Published:   October 15, 2026 by Jill Ramsower LLC

My Thoughts:  I thought he was dead ... until he kidnapped me from my wedding...

A tribute to the 1987 film The Princess Bride, Reapers Wrath is a mafia captive adventure romance by Amazon Top 35 Bestselling author Jill Ramsower.

Elio
Isa thinks a childhood friend has come to save her.
She has no idea I'm his identical twin.

Everyone from my past thinks I was killed, and in a way, I was.

I'm not the same boy who was abducted, but the monster he became.
A man so lethal, I'm now known as ... the Reaper.

I've returned for a single purpose, and it isn't to save Isa.
I'm here to claim her.

What to expect in Reapers Wrath:- Second chance
- Amnesia
- Kidnapped/Forced Proximity
- Tragic past
- Touch her and die
- Has an HEA
- Can be read as a standalone
- Dual POV
- Content warnings Loss of loved one, infertility and pregnancy issues, reference to child SA/trafficking

My Thoughts: The Reaper is just as his name sounds.   He is deadly, the kind of man that does not take no for an answer, the kind of man who does not forgive and forget, the kind of man that claims what he wants.   He has claimed Isa as his.

I am not usually a mafia romance reader but this book called to me, so I gave it a go. Reaper’s Wrath has shown me that stepping out of my comfort zone is a good thing.  I enjoyed the entire story.   The mafia storyline was not the entire storyline.   The romance was the bigger part of the story.  The book is the perfect mix with a lot of heat.

 I listened to the audiobook version and I enjoyed every word.  The narrators are perfect.  Their voices are the exact tone needed for the characters.  They are the perfect duet for this mafia book.   I will look for more from both the author and the narrators.

Thank you Hambright PR for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

Add to your MUST-READ list on Goodreads

Purchase your own copy on Amazon

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